Lawsuit: Nurse gave 83-year-old man fatal dose of fentanyl

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation today that could give terminally ill patients the right to seek drugs that are still experimental and not fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Lawsuit: Nurse gave 83-year-old man fatal dose of fentanyl

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation today that could give terminally ill patients the right to seek drugs that are still experimental and not fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) _ Relatives of a man who died of a fatal overdose at a Springfield hospital have filed a lawsuit.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the suit says 83-year-old Nelson Tyler came to the emergency department of Cox Medical Center South in February 2016. A lawyer representing Tyler’s family says he had recently been in the hospital and called 911 because he was feeling abdominal pain.

The suit says Tyler was given two doses of 25 micrograms of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Later, he was given 100 micrograms of fentanyl. The suit says Tyler then suffered cardiac arrest and died three days later.

The suit names a nurse and physician as defendants, in addition to CoxHealth. A spokeswoman says CoxHealth doesn’t comment on pending litigation.